Both genders have been given joint Otago player of the year awards.
Mitchell Sizemore and Paddy Ou could not be separated in the men and Rileigh Fields and Eliza Booth were similarly close in the women.
Ou beat Sizemore in their only head-to-head meeting but Sizemore was twice able to beat Thomas Hartono, a player to whom Ou lost.
Both had an outstanding attitude as team members and in training sessions.
They played as No1s for their clubs.
Sizemore played for competition winner St Clair, but on the way it lost twice to Balmacewen, for whom Ou was also the captain.
Sizemore won the North Otago Open singles and doubles, won the Otago doubles and was runner-up in singles to a Canterbury player in March while Ou had already relocated to Wellington at this time.
Ou was runner-up at Wanaka, also to a Canterbury player, but Sizemore did not compete in that event.
Both were in the semifinals in Queenstown when rain intervened.
Ou won a round at the nationals before bowing out to top seed Finn Tearney while Sizemore did not attend.
Their record for Otago was similar and the selectors felt it would be unfair to select just one player.
Fields and Booth were rewarded for their wide participation at a time when other females tended to pick and choose whether to compete.
They entered all tournaments locally and were always available for representative teams.
Fields had a slightly superior playing record but had several surprising losses, while Booth, as a club committee member and junior coaching helper at that level, rated highly for off-court attributes.
Managers of representative teams commented favourably on their attitude and contribution to team ethos, without being able to single out one above the other.
The award for most improved male went to Mat McCutcheon, who made big steps on the national rankings and won several close matches using his huge serve to take many tiebreaks.
Off court, McCutcheon also contributed widely as a mentor around tournaments and team events, especially coaching the Otago Boys' school team in interschool fixtures, and captaining it as a player in club tennis.
His role as a selection adviser and voluntary helper at team trainings increased notably over the period under review.
Most improved female was claimed by Laura Hamilton who had a 13-match winning streak against southern opponents, many to whom she had previously lost.
She led her school team to the South Island finals and had a strong record on and off the court when making her debut this season for Otago B.
